Badrinath temple (3133 m), sometimes called Badrinarayan temple, is situated along the Alaknanda river, in the hill town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand. It is widely considered to be one of the holiest Hindu temples, and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple and town are one of the four Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites. The temple is open only six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), due to extreme weather conditions in the Himalayan region.

Several murtis are worshiped in the temple. The most important is a one meter tall statue of Vishnu as Lord Badrinarayan, made of black Saligram stone. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta keshtras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu. The murti depicts Vishnu sitting in meditative posture, rather than His far more typical reclining pose. In November each year, when the town of Badrinath is closed, the image is moved to nearby Jyotirmath.

Temple Architecture

The temple is approximately 15 metre tall with a small cupola on top, covered with a gold gilt roof. The facade is built of stone, with arched windows. A broad stairway leads up to a tall arched gateway, which is the main entrance. The architecture resembles a Buddhist vihara (temple), with the brightly painted facade also more typical of Buddhist temples. Just
inside is the mandapa, a large pillared hall that leads to the garbha grha, or main shrine area. The walls and pillars of the mandapa are covered with intricate carvings.

The main shrine area houses the black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan, sitting under a gold canopy, under a Badri Tree. There are fifteen more murtis around the temple that are also worshiped. These include murtis of Nara & Narayana, Narasimha (the fourth incarnation of Vishnu), Lakshmi, Narada, Ganesha, Uddhava, Kubera, Garuda (the vehicle of Lord Narayan), and Navadurga.

The Tapt Kund hot sulphur springsjust below the temple are considered to be medicinal - many pilgrims consider it a requirement to bathe in the springs before visiting the temple. The springs have a year round temperature of 45°C.

History

Adi Shankara discovered the image of Badrinarayan in the Alaknanda River and enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund. In the sixteenth century, the king of Garhwal moved the murti to the present temple. The temple has undergone several major renovations, due to age and damage by avalanche. In the 17th century, the temple was expanded by the kings of Garhwal. After significant damage in the great 1803 Himalayan earthquake, it was rebuilt by the King of Jaipur.

Legend

One legend explains the reason that Vishnu is shown sitting in padmasana, rather than reclining. According to the story, Vishnu was chastised by a sage who saw Vishnu's consort Lakshmi massaging his feet. Vishnu went to Badrinath to perform austerity, meditating for a long time in padmasana. To this day, the area around Badrinath attracts yogis who come for meditation and seclusion.

Another legend says that Shiva and Parvati were doing tapas in Badrinath. Vishnu came in disguise as a small boy, crying loudly and disturbing them. Parvati asked the reason for his crying and he replied that he wanted Badrinath for meditation. Shiva and Parvati found that it was Lord Narayan in disguise. They then left Badrinath and moved to Kedarnath.

According to the the Srimad Bhagavatam, "There in Badrikashram the Personality of Godhead (Vishnu), in his incarnation as the sages Nara and Narayana, had been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all living entities.

The Skanda Purana states that “There are several sacred shrines in heaven, on earth, and in hell but there is no shrine like Badrinath.” The area around Badrinath was also celebrated in Padma Purana as abounding in spiritual treasures.

Panch Badri

The Badrinath temple is one of five related shrines called Panch Badri that are dedicated to worship of Lord Vishnu.

* Vishal Badri : Badrinath temple in Badrinath.
* Yogadhyan Badri : located at Pandukeshwar. It also has an image of Badrinath in meditative posture. Legend has it that

king Pandu installed a statue here named Yogadhyan Badri.
* Bhavishya Badri : 17 km from Joshimath at Subain. Legend says that when evil is on the rise in the world, Badrinath will

become inaccessible and Lord Badrinath will appear at the Bhavishya Badri temple. Thus it is the future, or Bhavishya Badri.
* Vridh Badri : 7 km from Joshimath in Animath. Vridh Badri means 'Old Badri.' Legend says this is where the Badrinath

image was originally worshipped, before being enshrined at the current Badrinath.
* Adi Badri : 17 km from Karnaprayag. A temple complex consisting of sixteen small temples with intricate carvings houses a three foot black stone statue of Lord Vishnu.

Throughout the route to Badrinath there are numerous pilgrimage sites at Deo Prayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandprayag and Vishnuprayag; as well as Pandukeswar where king Pandu observed Tapasya with his queen Madri and where his sons Pandavas, stayed during their pilgrimage to heaven, and the site where Bhima and Hanuman (sons of Vayu) met.

At Badrinath Lord MahaVishnu is believed to have done his penance. Seeing the Lord doing his penance in the open, Goddess Mahalaxmi is believed to have assumed the form of Badari tree to provide him shelter to face the onslaught of the adverse weather conditions, therefore the name Badari Narayan. It is believed that Lord Vishnu revealed to Narad rishi that Nar & Naryans forms were his own. It is also believed that Narad rishi, who also did his penance here, is even now worshipping the supreme God with Ashtakshara mantras.

At Badrinath one can witness one of the greatest wonders of nature in the hot water springs of Taptkund on the banks of ice chilled river Alaknanda. The temperature of the water in the kund is 55 degree centigrade whereas the normal temperature in this region for most part of the year remains at 9-10 degree centigrade to sub-zero levels. Before visiting the temple the
pilgrims take a holy bath in the Taptkund.

The temple's present structure was built by the Kings of Garhwal. The Temple has three sections - Garbhagriha (Sanctum), the Darshan Mandap, and Sabha Mandap. The Garbhagriha (Sanctum) houses Lord Badari Narayan, Kuber (God of wealth), Narad rishi, Udhava, Nar & Narayan.

Lord Badri Narayan (also called as Badri Vishal) is armed with Shankh (Conch) and Chakra in two arms in a lifted posture and two arms rested on the lap in Yogamudra. Guru-Shisya parampara is supposed to have its roots here. The kapats of Shri Badrinath temple has been opened on [b]1st May 2007 at 4:00 am[b].

Temple Rituals : Every day the temple opens at 4:00 am and closes at 12:00 Noon. In between the bhog puja, abhishek puja and other pujas of Lord Badrinarayan are performed. Then again the temple open at 3:00 pm and closed at 9:00 pm, after the Aarti of Lord Badrinarayan is peformed.

Although Badrinath is located in the far north of India, the head priest (Rawal) is traditionally from the far south of India, in Kerala. This tradition was begun by Adi Shankara. The Rawal is assisted by Dimripundits belonging to village Dimmer of Garhwal. Hard sugar candy, Pongal, Tulsi, and dry fruits are the prasad offered at Badrinath temple.